The police say they believe “several hundred” council homes “were fraudulently allocated to members of the community”
11:41, 05 Sep 2025Updated 17:42, 05 Sep 2025
The police say they believe “several hundred” council homes “were fraudulently allocated”
“Corrupt” council staff let out hundreds of council homes “for personal council gain” in a major fraud racket, police have said. Barking and Dagenham Council and the City of London Police announced that two people were arrested on Thursday morning (September 4th) after months of investigation. The police say they believe “several hundred” council homes “were fraudulently allocated to members of the community by LBBD [London Borough of Barking and Dagenham] corrupt housing officers”.
In a statement published today, City of London Police says it has evidence that many of the fraudulently-let homes were “sub let by associates” of the corrupt housing officers. It says prospective tenants were given contacts that could help them get affordable housing in the borough after answering adverts on social media. The force says that these tenants “paid fraudsters ‘finders fees’ and inflated rents”. It adds: “Some rents were paid in part to LBBD and some were not.”
The council confirmed that it, and its wholly-owned housing company BD Reside, were working with City of London Police on its investigation “following months of intelligence gathering”. It says police raided five homes in Dagenham and Essex this morning and arrested two people.
The council says it can’t release further information as the investigation – known as Operation Chandrila – is ongoing. But it appealed for anyone who has information to report it directly to the police.
Council leader Dominic Twomey said the council fraud team’s “proactive work” had helped lead to the arrests. He said: “Huge thanks go to our colleagues at City of London Police for the work they’ve done so far working in collaboration with the council and BD Reside.
“Now we wait to see what happens as the investigation unfolds, but I would encourage anyone who feels they have information that could help – no matter how small or irrelevant it may seem – to come forward.”
Anyone with information can provide it at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/4801020125R39-PO1 or email OPChandrila@cityoflondon.police.uk
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